Suryanelli gangrape: Kerala Assembly disrupted

The CPI(M)-led LDFopposition disrupted proceedings in the Kerala Assembly on Monday, demanding a fresh probe into the allegation of the victim against Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien in the Suryanelli gangrape case.

Rejecting the LDF's adjournment notice on the issue during zero hour, home minister Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan held that the state government could not comply with the demand for a re-investigation since the complaint against Kurien had been dismissed by the Supreme Court.

The placard-waving opposition members, led by their women colleagues, then rushed to the well of the house and raised slogans denouncing the government's stand, forcing speaker G Karthikeyan to adjourn the proceedings briefly.

Seeking leave for the motion, CPI(M) leader and former home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the recent Apex Court verdict ordering the Kerala high court to conduct a retrial in the 1996 case paved the way for re-investigating the victim's complaint against Kurien.

Balakrishnan said the girl had persisted in her complaint and last week had forwarded a request to the home minister, seeking a fresh probe.

He said the revelation of a former police officer, who was part of the team that investigated the case, that Kurien's alleged involvement was not properly looked into was also significant in view of recent developments in the case.

Seeking to turn the tables on the opposition, the home minister said when the complaint against Kurien was rejected by the Apex Court in 2007, LDF was in power in the state and sought to know why the then government had not filed an SLP (Special Leave Petition) and remained silent all these years.

The minister said he would not blame the opposition for that as a government could act only within the framework of the law in any matter.